Pick for musical instruments



H. ORTH.

PICK FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

FILED AUG.13|!919.

INVENTOR. HAROLD ORTH Patented Feb. 13, 1923.

PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD ORTH, 01E DENVER, COLOR-ADO.

PICK FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Application filed August 13, 1919.

.[ all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Ilanono than, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Picks for Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to picks or plec 1.0 trums for use in playing stringed musical instruments, and its principal object is to provide a thimble which snugly fits the finger of the player and which has at its end a transverse lug to twang the strings of a 1.5 guitar, banjo, or other similar musical instrument with either a forward or back action of the finger, or both, thereby causing them to produce clear and resonant sounds similar to those produced by the steelstringed instruments of Hawaii.

Another very important object of my invention is to provide a pick of the character mentioned which strikes the strings throughout the length of its transverse lug, while the hand on which it is worn occupies an easy and natural position on the instru' ment.

An embodiment of my improved pick has been shown in the accompanying drawings in the various views of which like parts are similarly designated, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the hand of: a player showing the improved pick in its operative position with relation to the strings of a musical instrument;

Figure 2, a perspective view oi": the pick drawn to an exaggerated scale;

Figure 3, a longitudinal section of the pick, and

Figure an underneath end view of the same.

The pick as shown in the drawings 'onsists of a thimble composed of two loops 5 and 6 formed integrally of a single piece of metal and disposed transversely with relation to each other.

Both loops are open for their adjustment to fit fingers of different shapes and sizes, it being understood that the metal of which the pick is made has sufficient inherent pliability to permit of its being bent to any desired shape.

The loops are designed to respectively encircle the fore-part of a finger and embrace the tip thereof, longitudinally of the same it being essential that they be formed Serial No. 317,223.

to lit snugly around the parts ot the linger they engage so as to preventdel'lertion or lost motion while in use. The longitudinal loop which constitutes the body portion of the thimble fits the end of the finger and also the inner and outer sides thereof and extends along the latter, one of the sides of the loop being longer than the other.

The U-shaped loop 6 which embraces the tip of the finger is connected with the longer side of the longitudinal loop and has at its vertex, an integral lug 7 to engage the strings S of the instrument when they are played by the finger on which the pick is worn.

The lug extends obliquely across the loop so that when the hand of the player is held in the proper position on the sound board of the instrument as shown in Figure 1, the lug extends in parallel relation to the strings thereof.

The oblique position of the lug on the thimble is of para-mount importance in the use of my invention inasmuch as it permits of striking the strings with the lug along its entire length without turning the hand from its natural position.

The engagement of the strings by the lug in this manner, prevents its slipping off the strings before a full tone is gained: it insures the production of a clear and resonant sound without any special effort on the part of the player and permits of playing the instrument accurately with any required rapidity and without slips or misses.

The snug fit of the loop on which the lug is formed, upon the tip of the finger, prevents defiection and lost motion and. thereby aids in the production of tones of the desired clearness and resonance.

In using the pick the thimble is placed on the finger with the free end of the tipembracing loop resting upon the nail thereof so that the pressure exerted on the finger in playing, is directed against the part by which the two loops of the thimble are connected and the strings can be struck with any desired force without bending the loops.

aving thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1. A pick of the class described comprising a loop adapted to encircle the fore-part of a finger, an integral substantially U- shaped loop of appreciable width extending transversely thereof and engaging both said arms and. extending transversely there of, said last mentioned 100p having an upwardly extending portion engaging the real. side oft-he finger and terminating below the said first mentioned loop, and a picking lug on the iishaped loop extending entirely across the same diagonally With relation to the plane thereof.

In testimony whereof I have ailixed my signature.

HAROLD ORTH. 

